Memorialable Christmas Parties

   Parties can be a very special part of Christmas.  For me, they are a chance to show family and friends how special they are.  A party can be just a small group of people, 2-3 extra guests; or it can be for larger groups.  Outside of the family, I particularly like small groups.  It allows me to focus on the uniqueness of the friendships--old friends who know me so well that I am at home and at ease with them; sharing memories and good times.  Or new friends who bring a new dimension to my life and about whom I can learn more.
  Plan your party well in advance.  Figure out most of the details: who you want to invite, what food to serve, what decor theme to use, etc.  By planning in advance you give yourself more time to work out the details and gather what you need for a successful party.

The Annual Family Christmas Party

A close up the table

  If at all possible, always try to use "real" dishes and flatware.  I guarantee that your guests will be impressed.   Nothing says, "I'm happy you came and I want to spend time with you" like setting a real table.  A dressy tablecloth and cloth napkins also add a special touch and allows for creative ideas for napkin rings.  Or use good quality paper napkins at least.

Snowflake theme napkin ring

    For the napkin ring above I found cheap, white felt coasters already cut into an almost snowflake shape.  I placed a small craft mirror behind it to allow some sparkle to come through and then wove white and silver ribbon through some of the openings in the design.  Between each opening I gave the ribbon a twist to make it stand out better.  Next I glued on white snowflakes punched out of shiny white paper and printed names, using the computer and cut out in the shape that I wanted since these napkin rings were also doubling as place cards.  These I also glued on.  For the "ring" I made a loop of plain white felt and attached to the  back.    
    Name cards are lovely, even for a small group,  Creating holders is such a fun way to present them.
Just let you imagination run wild.
    Pick a theme for the party.  This way, there is something around which to build decor; the napkin rings, the place cards, and even the table setting. Here are just a few theme ideas:  snowflakes--using blue, silver, and white: poinsettias or holly--using red and green or variations of that, for example, dark green and burgundy.
    For the annual Family Party, I always work with a snowflake theme using predominately white with accents of silver and blue.  White on white can be very elegant.  As seen in the pictures previous, I use a white damask table cloth, white china that has a silver rim, silver flatware, white cloth napkins, goblets that are etched with a snow scene (great use for the Arby's goblets) as well as a tall, thin champagne flute. Water is served in the goblets and a champagne colored sparkling white grape punch in the flutes. The center piece also carries the theme of white; usually an arrangement of white flowers with glass stemware candle holders and white tea-light candles.

Christmas Breakfast using poinsettias and holly with the reds and greens.

For an interesting touch, use cinnamon sticks as tea stirrers. In the background are small oil lamps with red lamp oil and tiny holly candle rings; something that Mom had for years and are still very classy.

Arrangements can be used more than once for different themed parties.

    For the arrangement above, I used an all white arrangement with greenery from the Family Party a few evenings previous to Christmas.  Since the flowers were still in good condition, I simply added a few red flowers for my poinsettia and holly theme.
    I always like to try have some type of small party favor or gift for the guests of each party.  They don't have to be  expensive, in fact homemade gifts are really special.  Just an enjoyable gesture for the guests to be able to take home and know that they are loved and thought of.  Gifts can be as simple as some homemade cookies, cakes, or molded candy presented in a pretty package; or it can be small practical items like nice pens, note paper, chap sticks, lotions etc.  Make an especially fun package by getting creative with the presentation.

My own version of "English Popper". 

    As seen above, I wanted to have a sort of traditional "English Cracker" gift; but I wanted to be able to do it with a particular theme and fill them with things that I knew the guests would enjoy.  For these, I got pieces of 81/2" by 11" heavy card stock and rolled them up from the short end and taped them.  Then I filled them with candy, pens, possibly sticky notes, chap sticks, gum, etc.  I was able to find tissue paper that matched my theme, which I wrapped around the card stock and tied the ends with coordinating ribbon and put at each person's plate.

Molded Chocolate sleighs, filled with white chocolate, orange coconut fudge.

    For this past Christmas, I found a candy mold that could be made into a 3 dimensional sleigh.  The sleighs had a holly and berries on the sides, which fit right into my theme.  These could be made ahead of time and stored in a tight container in a cool location.  When I was ready to use them, I cut stiff paper into a rectangle and punched a decorative design into each corner. Then I  filled the sleighs with balls of white chocolate, orange fudge that had been rolled in coconut. Then set the sleighs on the papers at each place setting.   

Christmas Morning Breakfast.

Christmas 2013: 
I used the Holly theme for Christmas Morning Breakfast.  The place cards were lamp posts with the name of each person written on the post in gold ink.   The napkin rings were made of ribbon overlapping itself and wrapped around a scotch tape ring after the tape was gone.  The Holly was made of felt and the "berries" were tiny, little jingle bells.

Christmas Morning Breakfast table

Lamp Post Place Cards

Holly Napkin Rings

This year for the Snowflake Party, I used menu cards.  

 
The napkin rings were again empty tape spools, this time with white satin ribbon wrapped around and overlapping.  Then I sewed white and silver beads around the outside and strung beads to hang down from the ring and which ended with a snowflake button.

I was able to find pre-cut wooden sleighs, which I painted white, added names, snowflakes, and beads to make name cards.

Snowflake Party Favors

This picture of the Snowflake party favors is a somewhat blurry but I did want to include it anyway.  I found snowflake favor boxes and then added white chocolate fudge balls to them. They make elegant, yet fairly simple party favors.